The present invention relates to the production of alkali metal hydrides. In particular the present invention relates to a process for the production of alkali metal hydrides selected from potassium and sodium hydrides in a simple and economical manner being low cost reagents which process is amenable to operation at low temperatures in a continuous manner. In one particular aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of purifying a catalytic exchange liquid used in the enrichment of deuterium by means of the intermediate production of an alkali metal hydride in accordance with the present invention.
Alkali metal hydrides have great importance in the chemical industry being useful inter alia as reducing agents, as starting materials for the preparation of complex hydrides, as basic catalysts for condensations and as components of catalyst systems for the polymerisation of olefins.
Heretofore alkali metal hydrides have inter alia been prepared from their elements. Methods are also known for preparing the hydrides from their oxides, carbonates, hydroxides, carbides, nitrites and amides. However such processes are relatively expensive, slow, require pure reagents and there is in many cases partial dissociation of the products at the high temperatures involved in their preparation.